Modern Latin America

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Devin KoppelHistory 141

Online

19th Century Latin America: The Causes for War

The boldest contributions to war in 19th century Latin America were the race war, the idea of independence, separation versus union controversies, territorial conquests, capitalistic interventions, struggle for resources, intraclass struggles, and religious wars. Deeply routed political, economic, and social frustrations fueled the Latin Wars for Independence. The American and French revolutions provided influence and models that were extremely important in shaping the future for Latin American independence. Simultaneous changes were taking place in Spain, where Carlos III had initiated reforms that contradicted Spanish tradition, fueling the mob mentality for change.Not all wars for Latin American independence were against the European monarchy, some were caused by differences within the country's regions These conflicts were partially due to the poorly defined boundaries of the newly independent nations

Interventions Caused by Capitalism The commercial nations of the US and Great Britain intervened with Latin America oftenFollowing the wars for independence, Latin American nations were devastated and decimatedThis left investors and foreign merchants who had hoped to exploit Latin America for commercial opportunities uneasyDuring the 19th century, more than 100 interventions took place by both nations and individualsThe Monroe Doctrine of 1823 outlined a policy to prevent a monarchic counterrevolution against republican governments and prohibit the expansion of European coloniesThe US very rarely threatened military intervention to enforce the doctrine

Mirrors of the HeartColor, Class, and Identity in Latin America

As is true with many regions of the world, Latin America is a region with a variety of culturesIn the Bolivian Andes, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, race and ethnicity interact with gender, occupation, class, family, and other factorsAs a result of invasions and conquests, populations changed and adapted to their social, political, and economic relationshipsPeople throughout Latin America and the Caribbean define the “mixed peoples” as mulatto and mestizo – labels like these are representative of the blending of cultures and familiesBolivia: the indigenous people and cultures predate European conquests and still dominate the country's populationHaiti/Dominican Republic: focus on the key issue of an emergence of Afro-Caribbean cultures and racesIdentity in these areas is continually being redefined as changing societies change their interpretations of culture and identity

Urbanization: Growth and Decay– Latin America has ranked as one of the most urbanized

regions, making the switch from a traditional society at an impressive rate

– Latin America contains some of the world's largest cities

– Industrialization led to much of the growth, along with rural institutions

– Cities provided hope for those who saw a bleak future in the countryside

– Growth is a reflection of how well the societies are developing: Latin America's population growth rate is a result of improved public health, nutrition, lowered infant mortality rates, and lower death rates

– The rise of large cities and widespread urbanization in the late 20th century added a threat of overpopulation

– These threats include the possibility of epidemic diseases, pollution, traffic, crime, and housing shortages

– Rapid growth exceeds the government's ability to create the proper plans to deal with societal and economic problems

– Quality of life is heavily impacted by rapid growth, causing a decline in resources and the necessity for large populations to live in slums

The North American Free Trade Agreement:– On January 1st, 1994, the agreement was signed by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S,

and the liberation army attacked on the same day – two top leaders were assassinated and four souther municipalities were seized by the Zapatista national Liberation Army

– The agreement was intended to place Mexico into the First world, but the result was attention being averted to manufacturing

– Mexico was once a leader in oil, but made a switch to 80% manufacturing– Despite this growth, China out-placed Mexico in manufacturing and many Mexican

industries moved to China– This fueled immigration of Mexicans to the U.S., as over 300,000 Mexicans became

unemployed

The Second World Part III: Mexico

The Second World Part III: MexicoThe United States has welcomed Mexican immigrants as a sort of double edged sword, while providing cheap labor but also taking American jobsImmigrants place a strain on the public education and health systems, that are for the large part underfundedFor those who did not immigrate, public outrage led to reforms, such as public investment in hospitalsMexicans also riot and protest about the lack of social support programs, leading to brutality among gangs, police, and liberalsAndres Manuel Lopez Obrador, former mayor of Mexico, created a great reputation in the community through his creation of social welfare programsRegular protests take place in Mexico against the high prices for basic food needs

Colombia is in many ways a distinct country, with the world's third largest populationIt is the only South American county that has coasts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean coastsThis provides the possibility for South America to profit from ventures both to the North and the far EastProfits could increase with an agreement with China and connecting with other nations through an oil pipelineThe society is divided into three by the Andean Mountain Ranges, with three political groups fighting for power:

– Government & Military– Paramilitary Groups– Criminals & Drug Traffickers – Colombia is known as the center

of the drug trade and is a major supplier of drugs in the U.S.

The Second World Part III: Colombia

Latin American philosophy dates back to the 1400's, with beginnings in the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca culturesThese early Southern Americans created sophisticated thought systems centuries before the arrival of Europeans in AmericaBy the 16th century, academic philosophy began during the beginnings of a Catholic society, but political disaster prevented the subject from broadening until the later half of the 19th centuryIn the early 20th century, new intellectual movements began in opposition to anti-positivism – the movement was led by Auguste Comte and Herbert SpencerIn the early 20th century, a strong anti-positivist backlash came with the introduction of new intellectual movementsPhilosophers supported idealism, vitalism, pragmatism, and various political and social philosophies

Latin American Philosophy

The movement towards anti-positivism was a consequence of the arrival of Spanish philosophers, many of whom were exiled after the fall of Spain's republicSpaniard Jose Ortega y Gasset was a great influence in shaping Latin American philosophy by addressing the question of whether Latin Americans were forming any authentic ideas or simply adopting those of the EuropeansMany believed that they were in fact adapting rather than adopting European philosophyThis process of autognosis, or critical self-examination, led the people to seek out unique and distinctive thoughtsPhilosophy of liberation attempts to explain social and political phenomenonOne of the greatest contributions of modern Latin American philosophy is liberation philosophy

The Second World Part III: Philosophy